System for controlling fluid-pressure.



No. 748,098. PATENTBD DEC. 29, 1903. E. D. PRIEST. SYSTEM FORCONTROLLING FLUID PRESSURE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21. 1903.

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No. 748,098. PATENTED DEC. 29, 1903.v B. D. PRIEST.

SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING FLUID PRESSURE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 21, 1903. N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Wi'mwsws' Ira@11 5 01". gal Z: W Edward D. Priest W WW I AK'KQ,

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NITED SrATns Tea/tented Ificmloer 29, 1903.

PATENT OFFIcn.

EDWARD D. PRIEST, OF SCIIENECTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERALELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

SYSTEM FOR CONTROLLING FLUID-PRESSURE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent- No. 748,098, datedDecember 29, 1903.

Application filed May 21, 1903. Serial No. 158.202. (lilo model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD D. PRIEST, a citizenof the United States,residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Systems for ControllingFluid-Pressure, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates to fluid-pres- IO sure-controlling systems,and more particularly to systems for controlling the supply ofcompressed air to the storage reservoir or res ervoirs of air-brakesystems.

In the majority of air-brake systems which l5 have been heretoforesuggested and in the systems which are now commonly employed onelectrically-propelled vehicles the powerdriven air-compressor is soconstructed and arranged with respect to the air-brake sys- 2o tem thatit will operate to supply compressed air to the main reservoir of thesystem when the pressure in the said reservoir falls below apredetermined minimum limit and will continue to operate until apredetermined maximum pressure is reached, at which time it isautomatically stopped. The operation of the fluid-compressor isindependent of the operation of the car or vehicle. It therefore veryoften happens that the compressor is operat- 0 ing while the car isstanding still, thereby causing considerable vibration and noise, acondition of afiairs which is very annoying and distasteful to thepassengers.

The object of my invention is to-prevent the operation of theair-compressor while the car is standing still, and thus do away withthe objectionable vibration and noise caused by saidcompressor.

In the preferred form of my invention I employ a power-drivenfluid-compressor for supplying compressed air to the air-brake system orfor any other desired purpose and connect the compressor-driving meansto the mo-' tor-controller, which is in an independent motor-circuit, insuch a manner that the said fluid-compressor is rendered inoperativewhen the motors in said independent circuit are deprived of curren t. Ialso provide means for controlling said compressor-dri ving meansindependent of said motor-controller.

More specifically considered, my invention consists of the combination,with a train-control system employing motor-controllers of theseparately-actuated contact type, of a motor-driven fluid-compressor oneach motor-car connected to the motor-controller on that car in such amanner that itis rendered inoperative when the master-controller of thetraincontrol system is in its initial or off position. I prefer toemploy in these forms of my invention an automatically-actuated governorwhich is adapted to maintain the pressure in the air-brake system withincertain predetermined limits.

Referring to the drawings, which illustrate the preferred embodiment ofmy invention, Figure 1 represents diagrammatically afluidpressurecontrolling system the operating-circuits of which areconnected to a car-motor controller of the ordinary type. Fig. 2 isadiagrammatic representation of my improved fluid-pressure-controllingsystem as applied to a train-control system; and Fig. 3 showsdiagrammatically part of the electrical equipment carried by a singlecar in a traincontrol system illustrated in Fig. 2, said systememploying motor-controllers of the separatelyactuated contact type.

Referring now to Fig. 1,2 represents a fluidcompressor driven by themotor 3. The said fluid-compressor 2 supplies compressed air to thetrain -pipe 4 of the air-brake system through the reservoir 5. Connectedwith the pipe 6, leading from the reservoir to the trainpipe 4, is anautomatically-actuated governor 7, which is adapted to complete acircuit through the motor 3 when the pressure in the reservoir 5 dropsbelow a predetermined minimum amount and is also adapted to open saidcircuit when the pressure is said reservoir 5 reaches a predeterminedmaximum limit. A controller for the propelling-motors of the car ispartly shown at C, some of the contact-segments mounted on the movablemember of said controller being indicated by a to a inclusive, and thecontact-fingers which engage with said contact-segments being indicatedby b to b inclusive. The trolley connection is indicated by T. Thecircuits through the propelling-motors on the car are not shown, sincethey are not necessary and their presence would further complicate thediagram. The double-pole switch is provided for the purpose of cuttingthe motor 3 entirely out of circuit when so desired. This system isespecially applicable to locomotives and single-car equipments.

In the operation of the system shown in Fig. l the movable member of themotorcontroller O is operated so that the contactsegments a, a and aengage with the'contact-fingersb, b and b respectively,therebycompleting a circuit through the propellingmotors of the car fromtrolley T, contactfinger Z1 coi'itact-segments a and a contactfinger bconductor cl, the, and also completing a circuit from the trolley Tthrough the contact-finger b contact-segments a and a, contactfinger b,conductor 9, one pole of switch 10, conductor 11, motor 3, conductor 12,the other pole of switch 10, conductor 13, through the contacts 8 and 8of the governor 7 to ground at G. This latter circuit is completedprovided the pressure in the reservoir 5 has dropped below thepredetermined limit, thereby allowing the movable member 8 of thegovernor to engage the contacts 8. The fluid compressor 2 will thereforeoperate until the pressure in the reservoir 5 reaches the maximum limit,at which time the movable member 8 of the governor will be moved awayfrom the contacts 8 and the circuit through the motor 3 will be broken.The movable member 8' is operated by the compressed fluid acting uponthe piston fagainst the action of the spring f. Theautomatically-actuated governor 7 may be dispensed with, if desired, andthe connections made directly to the ground from the motor 3 in such amanner that the circuit through said motor will be completed so long asthe car-motors are supplied with current, thus operating theair-compressor while the car is running with power on and preventing itfrom operating when the car is standing still. If at any time it becomesnecessaryor desirable to allow the motor of the air-compressor to runcontinuously or to operate it while the car is standing still, theswitch 14 is closed, thereby shunting the contacts I) and b of thecar-motor controller and connecting the motor of the air-compressor incircuit directly between the trolley and ground in such a manner as isshown and described in the patent to S. B. Stewart, Jr., No. 671,2-14,granted April 2, 1901. A detailed description of the preferred form ofgovernor may be found in said patent.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3, I have shown diagrammatically the mannerin which my invention may be applied to a train-control system employinga motor-controller or motor-controllers of the separately-act uatedcontact type, such as is shown and described in the patent to Perry, No.687,060, granted November 19, 1901. In the diagram Fig. 3, 0 representsa motor-controller made up of separate electrically-actuated contacts T,T, R, R S, P, P, R R, RF, R, R, and R which control the connections ofthe motors M and M The train-wires of the control-circuits of saidsystem are represented by 16 to 22, inclusive, and themaster-controllers, which may be located at any desired point on the caror train, are here represented diagrammatically at each end of the carby C The trolley or collector shoe is indicated by T and the trolleytrain-wire by T The train-wire for the fluid-compressors is representedby 28. As in Fig. l, 3 represents the motor for the air-compressor, and7 represents the automatically-actuated governor for said compressor.The double-pole cut-out switch 10 is provided on each car for cuttingout the motor 3. The switch 24 when its movable member is in engagementwith the contact 25, as shown in Fig. 3, connects the motor 3 in circuitthrough the motor-controller C and when in engagement with the contacts26 connects said motor 3 directly in a circuit from the trolleytrain-wire T The switch 27 is provided on each car for the purpose ofcutting out the auto matically-actuated governor on that car. It will beunderstood that when ever the motor-controller C is in any of itsoperative positions the switches or contacts T and T are closed and theconductor or bus-bar 28 is energized-that is to say, said bus-barreceives current from the trolley T through said separately-actuatedcontacts T T. Therefore if the fluid-compressor mortor 3 is connected incircuit with said busbar it will receive current only when themaster-controller C is in its operative positions and the motors H and Mare receiving current, provided the compressor-circuit is not opened bythe governor 7. In the operation of this system when themastercontroller C is moved from its initial or off position into any ofits operative positions the motor-controller O is operated to completethe circuit through the motors M and M Then if the contact 8 of theautomatically-actuated governor 7 is in engagement with the contacts 8and the switches 24, 10, and 27 are in the position shown in Fig. 3 acircuit will be completed from trolley T to bus-bar 28, thence throughthe conductor 29, contact of the switch 24, through one pole of theswitch 10, air-compressor motor 3, other pole of the switch 10,conductor 30, fluid-compressor train-wire 23, conductor 31, switch 27,conductor 32, contacts 8 and 8 of the automatically-actuated governor 7to ground at G. As in the system illustrated in Fig. 1, theautomatically-actuated gov ernor 7 may be dispensed with and thetrainwire 23 may be connected directly to ground through the switch 27,if so desired. It the operation of the air-compressor while the car isrunning is insuflicient to supply enough air to operate the air-brakesatisfactorily, the switch 24 maybe thrown so as to bring its movablearm into engagement with the con tact 26 and cause said compressor torun as long as desired independent of the position of thecontrolling-switch or master-controller. Then when the pressure in theair-brake system reaches the predetermined minimum amount or drops belowsaid amount a circuit will be completed from the trolley 'l, trolleytrain-wire T conductor 33, contact 26, movable arm of the switch 24, onepole of the switch 10, motor 3, other pole of the switch 10, conductor30, air-com pressor train-wire 23, conductor 31, switch 27, conductor32, contacts ot' the automatically-actuated governor to ground at G.

In Fig. 2 each car is equipped with a motorcontroller G,master-controller C and with the air-compressor and governor, asindicated in Fig. 3. Each car is also equipped with a set of switches24:, 10, and 27, and the com pressor train-wire 23, trolley train-wire Tand air-brake train-pipe at run through the train. It will thus be seenthat when the controlling-switches for the air-com pressor on each carare in their proper position the motors of the aircompressors will besupplied with current only when the motors on the respective cars aresupplied with current, and the said compressors will be renderedinoperative when the motor-controllers are in the position correspondingto the off position of the master controller. Furthermore, the motors ofthe air-compressors are entirely independent of one another, and thecompressor-motor on one car may be run directly from trolley, while themotor connected to the aircompressor on another car is controlled by themaster-controller through the motor-controller on that car. It will alsobe seen that since all the automatically-actuated governors throughoutthe train are connected to the compressor train-wire 23, and since it isonly necessary to ground said train-wire anywhere in order'to start intoop eration all of the air-compressors, provided the controlling-switchesare in the proper position, the said compressors will continue to rununtil the last automatically-actuated governor in the train is operatedto move the contact 8 of said governor away from its contacts 8.

In the appended claims I aim to cover all modifications of the systemherein shown and described which do not involve a departure from thespirit and scope of my invention.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of theUnited States, is

1. In combination, a motor, a controllingswitch for said motor, afluid-compressor, means independent of said motor for driving saidfluid-compressor, and means for rendering said compressor-driving meansinoperative when the circuit of said motor is opened.

2. In combination, a motor-circuit including a motor and controller forsaid motor, a fluidcompressor, means for driving said compressor, andmeans operatively connected to said motor-controller for preventing theoperation of said fluid-compressor when the motor-controller is operatedto open the motorcircuit.

3. In combination, a motor, a controllingswitch for said motor, afluid-compressor, a motor for driving said compressor, and means forcompleting the circuit through said driving-motor when saidcontrolling-switch is in one position and for opening said circuit whenthe switch is moved into another position.

l. In combination, a motor, a controllingswitch for said motor, afluid-compressor, a motor for driving said compressor, means forcompleting the circuit through said drivingmotor when saidcontrollingswitch is in one position and for opening said circuit whenthe switch is moved into another position, and an independent switch forcompleting the circuit through said compressor-motor so that thecompressor will operate independent of the position of saidcontrolling-switch.

5. In combination, a motor-controller of the separately-actuated contacttype, a plurality of motors controlled thereby, a master-controller forsaid motor-controller, a fluid-compressor, and means operativelyconnected to said motor-controller for operating said fluidcompressorwhen the mastercontroller is moved into any of its operative positions.

6. In combination, a motor-controller of the separately-actuated contacttype, a plurality of motors controlled thereby, a master-controller forsaid motor-controller, a fluid-compressor, a motor connected to saidmotor-controller for operating said fluid-compressor when themaster-controller is moved into any of its operative positions, and anindependent switch for completing the circuit through saidcompressor-motor so that the compressor will operate independent of theposition of said master-controller.

7. In combination, a motor-controllerof the separately-actuated contacttype, a plurality of motors controlled thereby, a master-controller forsaid motor-controller, a fluid-compressor, a motor for operating saidfluid-compressor, and connections between said compressor motor andsaidv motorcontroller whereby said compressor is allowed to operate whenthe master-controller is moved into its operative positions and isrendered inoperative when the master-controller is in its initial or offposition.

8. In combination, a motor, a controllingswitch for said motor, afluid-compressor, means independent of said motor for driving saidcompressor, a reservoir into which compressed tlnid from said compressoris delivered, means operatively connected to said controlling-switch forrendering said compressor-driving means inoperative when the circuit ofsaid motor is opened, and an automatically-actuated governor forstopping said com pressor-driving means when the pressure in saidreservoir reaches a predetermined limit.

9. In an electrically-propelled vehicle, a

propelling-motor, a controller for said motor, an air-compressor, meansconnected to said motor-controller for driving said fluid-compressorwhen the motor-controller is in its operative positions, and means forpreventing the operation of said compressor driving means when thecontroller is in its initial or off position. I

10. In a train-control system, a plurality of motors, a plurality ofmotor-controllers, a master-controller for said motor-controllers, aplurality of power-driven fluid-compressors, and means for preventingthe operation of said compressors when the master-controller is in itsinitial or off position.

11. In a train-control system, a plurality of motors, a plurality ofmotor-controllers, a

master-controller for said motor-controllers, a fluid-compressor on eachmotor-car, means connected to the motor-controller on each car foroperating the compressor on that car, and means for preventing theoperation of said compressor when the master-controller is in itsinitial or off position.

12. In a train-control system, a plurality of motors, a plurality ofmotor-controllers of the separately-actuated contact type, amastercontroller for said motor-controllers, a fluidcompressor on eachmotor-car, a motor for driving said compressor, and connections betweenthe compressor-motor and the motorcontroller on that car, whereby allthe compressors are allowed to operate when the master-controller is inany of its operative positions and are rendered inoperative when saidmaster-controller is in its initial or ofi position.

13. In a train-control system, a plurality of motors, a plurality ofmotor-controllers of the separately-actuated contact type, amastercontroller for said motor-controllers, a fluidoompressor on eachmotor-car, a motor for driving said compressor, connections between thecompressor-motor and the motor-controller on that car, whereby all thecompressors are allowed to operate when the master-controller is in anyof its operative positions and are rendered inoperative when saidmastercontroller is in its initial or off position, and means forconnecting any one of said compressors to trolley so as to operate itindependent of the position of said master-controller.

14. In a train-control system, a plurality of motors, a plurality ofmotor-controllers, a master-controller for said motor-controllers, aplurality of power-driven fluid-compressors, means for preventing theoperation of said compressors when the master-controller is in itsinitial or off position, a compressor train-wire with which the motorsfor operating said compressors are connected, and a plurality ofautomatically-actuated governors connected to said train-wire.

15. In a train-control system, a plurality of motors, a plurality ofmotor-controllers, a master-controller for said motor-controllers, apluralityofpower-driven fluid-compressors, means for preventing theoperation of said compressors when the master-controller is in itsinitial or 01f position, and means for controlling the operation of" anyone of said compressors independent of the position of saidmaster-controller.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of May,1903.

EDWARD D. PRIEST.

Witnesses:

BENJAMIN B. HULL, HELEN ORFORD.

